1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an articulated lock for a saw rope and including a first articulated member having a sleeve-shaped region for receiving an end of the rope and a connection region formed of two, spaced from each other cheeks having coaxial bores, a common axis of which extends perpendicular to a longitudinal extent of the first articulated member, a second articulated member having a sleeve-shaped region for receiving another end of the rope, and a connection region having a through-opening and connectable with the connection region of the first articulated member, and joining bolt means for pivotally connecting the first and second articulated members.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For cutting of natural or virgin stone, brickwork, reinforced concrete, and the like or for treating of precise profiles, sawing ropes, which are provided in rope saws, are used. For guiding a sawing or a saw rope in and outside of a rope saw, deflection or guide rollers are used, with the rollers being provided with an outer profile corresponding to the rope. The saw rope is formed of a steel cable, a plurality of cutting beads formed of diamond cutting grains and distributed over the steel cable, and an articulated lock which connects the opposite ends of the saw rope with each other. The saw rope, the cutting edges of which have a circular outer profile, bends during treating of constructional component, which results in rotation of the entire rope about its axis. The advantage of this rotation consists in that the outer profile of the cutting beads wears substantially uniformly. In order for the rope to be guided about the deflection rollers well and reliably also in the region of the articulated lock, the lock includes, e.g., two articulated members with two articulated axes crossing each other at an angle of 90.degree.. Because of this, the two articulated members can rotate or pivot in opposite directions upon rotation of the rope by 90.degree.. A saw rope of the type described above is disclosed in EP-680395B1.
Each of the two articulated members has a fork-shaped receiving region with two cheeks and has a sleeve-shaped receiving region fixedly connected with a saw rope end. The two articulated axes are formed by two joining bolts which extend through respective cheeks of the articulated members and respective bores of an intermediate member that projects into the space between the two cheeks of both articulated members. Because of the two articulated axes arranged one after another in the longitudinal direction of the articulated lock, the lock has a large length. In addition, the lock is formed of a comparatively large number of parts and has a relatively large weight.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an articulated lock having a reduced length and a reduced weight.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an articulated lock that can be economically produced and that insures a reliable connection of the two ends of the saw rope.